I really had no idea what I was doing here. How had I let Sophia and Kelli talk me into this?

“Miss Antonelli?” the receptionist’s voice rang through the small waiting room, “Doctor Rink will see you now.”



I stood, smoothing my shirt with my shaking hands, and headed through the door she’d nodded toward.

Dr. Rink was sitting at a well-organized desk when I entered her office. The laptop on her desk was open and I suspected she’d just been going over my file one last time before our appointment. My stomach was doing flips already.



“Hello, Katarina,” she said, coming around the desk to greet me.

“Oh, you can call me Kat; I don’t normally go by my full name.”

“Alright. And please, call me Nita. Why don’t we have a seat, Kat?” She motioned to the comfortable looking sitting area behind me.



There were three couches, a large coffee table and a TV in a square formation. This wasn’t how I’d imagined a shrink’s office would look. I’d been picturing a leather chaise lounge chair and lots of abstract paintings on the walls. The few paintings here were of landscapes and flowers. Dr. Rink had set up a very welcoming environment.

I took a seat on the long beige couch, wondering if my choice was some sort of insight into my personality.

“So, what brings you here today, Kat?” Nita’s voice was low and soothing.

“Well, I have been under a lot of stress lately, and after the recent death of my grandfather my friends recommended that I see someone.”

“Mm hmm,” she nodded, waiting for me to continue.

But I didn’t know where to start. I’d thought this would go differently; that she would do most of the talking; that she would dish out advice and I would only have to listen and learn how to change my life.

After a moment of silence Nita picked up on my discomfort. “Kat, there’s no need to be nervous,” she said eyeing my hands, which I had clutched tightly in my lap. “Whatever is going on in your life, trust me, I’ve heard worse. I don’t make judgments on my clients, and you don’t have to tell me anything you aren’t comfortable with.”



“Thanks. I just don’t really know what things are important enough for you to hear about.”

She smiled invitingly. “Anything that’s bothering you is a good topic. Why don’t we start with the stress you mentioned? What’s been going on since your grandfather died?”

“It all happened at once. My life was finally getting back on track and I was happy again. Then we got a phone call from our mother and found out that she had been hospitalized and that our grandfather had died. It was too much to handle. And after the funeral, I returned home to find a voicemail from my ex-husband, who wants to see the kids. I just… fainted.”



“How long ago was this?”

“That was last Friday. One of my friends was concerned that the fainting spell was my inability to deal with stress, and that’s why she recommended therapy.”

“She could be right,” Nita said. “Stress is a very powerful force on the human psyche. It can actually lead to many health problems including heart disease and depression. It seems like you may have been experiencing a little bit of depression resulting from a divorce, correct?”



I nodded.

“So, do you want to talk about that?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to gather my thoughts. I realized that Sean played a major role in my distress, but I felt that it wasn’t my place to air out his dirty laundry to a stranger, so I’d have to avoid saying his name to Nita.

“I had this wonderful boyfriend in high school. We were in love, high school sweethearts. Then we went off to different colleges and were stupid enough to believe that things would always stay the same. He proposed, but I wanted to finish my degree first. And I think that truly broke his heart. That’s when I met Emilio. I was torn between the two men in my life and ended up choosing and marrying Emilio. When I got pregnant with twins he started having an affair with his old boyfriend. I found out when I walked in on them together.”



“And is your ex the source of your stress? You said he wanted to see your children.”

“Yes, he does, but he’s actually not what’s stressing me out. I mean, I was deeply depressed after my divorce. I felt so worthless, but that is in the past.”

“So what is bothering you right now?”

“The other ex. The boy I dated in high school has come back into my life as a friend.”

“Ah. I see. Are you uncomfortable around him because of your history?”



“No, that’s not it. We’re very close, but only as friends. But my friends think we should be more than that. Everyone keeps pressuring me to get back together with him, but I can’t force myself to feel something I don’t. The assumptions are what are stressing me out.”



I slumped over in my seat and put my head in my hands. “What can I do Nita? I’m so tired of people meddling in my life. I’m happy the way things are.”

“Kat, I truly think that if there are no feelings between the two of you and his presence is the source of distress in your life, that you should strongly reconsider your friendship with this man.”

“Yes,” I sighed. “I agree.”



It all clicked into place. Sean could no longer be a part of my life. Our friendship was hurting the both of us, and confusing my children. Isabella had actually called Sean ‘Daddy’ the other day and I’d nearly had a panic attack. I couldn’t allow myself to let him in again, to open myself up for more hurt and disappointment. I had children now and they would also be affected by my relationships. I had to think of myself and my family. This was for the best.

I sighed and put my hands over my face. Hopefully Sean would be understanding and respect my boundaries.



“Are we done for the day?” Nita asked. I laughed. I’d spent several minutes putting things together in my head and I’m sure several emotions had played out on my face. Nita must have known I’d had a personal revelation.

“Yes, thank you for your time. I think I would like to come back again.” I said, standing.

“Absolutely. It seems like you had some kind of breakthrough today and I’d like to hear more about it when you’re ready. Can you come back in two weeks from today?”

“Yes, I look forward to it. Thank you again Dr, Rink.”



--------------------------------------------------------------

Twenty minutes later I sat in my driveway, unable to get out of my van. All the confidence I’d found in my counseling session had worn off as soon as I’d arrived home to see Sean’s car in front of the house. What was he doing there? I wasn’t ready to face him so soon. I needed more time to collect my thoughts. This was going to be bad, but I couldn’t sit in my van all night.



I walked inside, searching for Sean and the kids but they weren’t in sight. I thought I could hear music coming from upstairs. They must all be in the twins’ room.

Sure enough, Sean was there, sprawled out on the floor with Patrick while Gabriella painted away on the canvas Nonna had given her for Christmas, and Isabella danced along to the radio.



“Sean, what are you doing here?” I said, hardly containing the irritation in my voice.

“Hey, Kat,” he said, startled at my tone. “Sof had to go somewhere, so she called me to keep an eye on the kids until you got home. How was your appointment?”

“How did you know about that?” I snapped, suddenly on edge.

“Um, I didn’t. I just knew you had a meeting or something today. What’s going on, Kat? You seem upset.”

I took a breath to steady myself. “Can we talk in the other room, please?”
“Sure.”



Sean followed me down the hallway to my bedroom where the kids couldn’t hear us. I was shaking already and was likely to explode at any moment. I didn’t want to drag them into this.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” he asked as soon as I’d shut the door behind us.

“Sean, I don’t know how to say this, but… you’ve got to give me a little space. I feel smothered.”

“Oh… I didn’t know you felt that way. Of course I’ll back off if you need me to.”



“I don’t mean to be rude, but I just can’t take all the pressure.”

“Pressure? What pressure?”

“Oh, don’t even act like you don’t know! Everyone keeps trying to push us back together and it’s too much for me to handle! I have a family now; things aren’t like they were in high school!”



“I know that Kat! I really care for you, but when have I ever pressured you to get back together?”

“Just get out!” I huffed. “I don’t want to see you right now. I can’t deal with this!”



“Okay… if that’s really what you want I’ll respect your decision.” He walked past me and then paused at the door. “Goodbye, Kat.”

And with that he was gone. I had done it. I had cut the stress out of my life.



So then… why did it hurt so much?



__________________________________________________

Okay guys, I know everyone loves Sean... but don't freak out!

Sorry about there being no ceiling tiles in one pic. It's probably not noticeable, but stuff like that bugs me, I guess I'm a little OCD.

And.... prepare yourselves! There are only 2-5 more chapters yet (depending on how it all fits together).

I've decided that I want to do more stories after this one is over, but... I want to take a long break from it. I want to be able to enjoy TS3 when I get it, and actually write a whole story before starting up a thread. I'm writing/shooting his one chapter by chapter, which is why there are such long waits between updates.